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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: net · pitch · pitcher · date · branch · patient · tube · stock

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. net — after costs
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. date — the fruit
  7. tube — the underground
  8. net — in sport
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stock — goods
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tube — a container
  19. net — for catching
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. tube — in a tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com